Food riots and the Fed - and a first-hand account of the reality behind the news blackout in Egypt - Hello Israel, COULD IT HAPPEN HERE?

Taipan Daily: Could U.S. Monetary Policy Ignite World War III? by Justice Litle, Editorial Director, Taipan Publishing Group We know the Bernanke Fed is doing odd and dangerous things these days. But could U.S. monetary policy actually touch off a third World War? It seems far-fetched, no doubt. And the odds of actual world war breaking out are ridiculously low. (They have to be by definition, since world war is in itself such a low-probability event.) But still, the potential connection is worth exploring, if only as a thought exercise. Highlighting the connections that make the scenario possible, if not plausible, provides useful food for thought. To start we'll draw on some concepts already featured in these pages, via pieces like "The Pyramid and the Pie" and "Let Them Eat Paper." Namely, it's important to note that: There is great inequality in both the Western and developing worlds. The middle class is being squeezed by rising global competition, and all below a certain class threshold are being squeezed by rising food and energy prices. In its effort to stimulate the U.S. economy with a paper asset boom, the Federal Reserve is indifferent to the pain it is creating via rising food and energy prices -- particularly outside the United States. In short, the Fed can look at "non-core" inflation and shrug, because the official statistics do not pay attention to it -- and because U.S. consumers spend a relatively small percentage of their incomes on food and energy (compared to the rest of the world). Elsewhere it is not so easy to look away, as the following Economist excerpt shows: Outside America, food has a bigger share than energy in consumers' shopping baskets -- and thus in inflation too (see chart). In developing countries, rising food prices can be a human as well as an economic disaster. In Asia in early 2008 a spike in the price of rice led to widespread unrest and desperate attempts by governments to secure more supplies. In December in India, for example, food prices rose at an annual rate of 14%, and there has been a run on onions, a dietary staple... The equation here is fairly simple. Countries that trade with the United States, or otherwise do a lot of trade in dollars, are subject to an increased flow of dollars thanks to loose Fed policy. In order to keep their own currencies competitive, these same countries take the dollars from their exporters and print up new home currency in exchange for those dollars. (If they did not do this, the value of the home currency would rise, hurting competitiveness.) The end result is more home currency sloshing around the local economy, which drives food and energy prices up. When developing world families spend 40% of their income or more on basic food staples, this can get to be a problem fast. In fact, in the previously stable Arab world, food and energy price hikes have led to blood in the streets... In Tunisia, where the spirit of revolution broke out most plainly, violent town riots centered around "a desperate shortage of food and heating oil" (as reported to the BBC). Meanwhile, earlier this month, riots in Algeria broke out as the cost of staple goods such as flour, salad oil and sugar more than doubled. And now, in the latest twist, Egypt and Yemen are erupting. Thousands are rallying... hundreds are being arrested... and an unfortunate few are being killed. The Middle East power structure has long been dominated by "strong men" -- totalitarian leaders who have held an iron grip on power for decades, reacting to dissent with brutal crackdowns of force. Sad to say, the United States government has also cultivated official ties with many of these strong men in the name of combating terrorism and maintaining links to the region. Now, many unsavory characters are at risk of being toppled by a rising swell of anger, sweeping through regimes like a chain of dominoes. And the core of it comes back to out-of-control food price escalations, which, in turn, are in no small part a consequence of the money-pumping Federal Reserve. So where is the World War III connection? That goes back to Middle East leaders and the dawning horror that is engulfing them. As the "Jasmine Revolution" of Tunisia causes protests and revolts to leap from country to country, no strong man can feel truly safe. Those who have not been forced to flee are drawing up alternative plans. As Samuel Johnson reputedly said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." Extreme forms of patriotism involve beating the drums of war. And for authoritarian regimes facing existential crisis, one of the oldest plays in the book is stirring up fervor for an outside enemy. Nothing like a rise of nationalist anger and outward directed aggression to cool the simmering discontentment at home... So now let's connect all the dots: U.S. monetary policy exports inflation to the rest of the world (exacerbating a sharp rise in food prices). The Federal Reserve continues on this path assuming "no inflationary impact," as it is only focused on U.S. domestic markets (and artificially massaged "core" inflation stats). Cost-of-living increases in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere touch off a domino chain of protests and riots, with large reserves of pent-up aggression finally bursting forth. Other Arab "strong men" observe with horror the plight of their fleeing brethren and set their minds to avoiding the same scenario. A desperate lack of choices ultimately leads to one of the oldest tricks in the book: A diversion disguised as patriotism (or nationalism), the more belligerent the better, to draw civilian attention away from crumbling conditions at home. With the potential for military escalation unclear, and much of the Middle East power structure in jeopardy all at once, the wrong combination of destructive feedback loops -- and there are many combos to choose from -- ultimately leads to war... Regardless of ultimate outcome, we can see via this exercise how bad policies can have unintended impacts. Like the "butterfly effect" in chaos theory, one never knows how far an unwise decision can reverberate, or what unexpected further chain reactions will be touched off. With a little imagination and scenario-building, we can further see how the Western world powers that be -- who project their smug confidence and assurance daily -- are fooling no one but themselves. Warm Regards, JL Egypt's Reality Now "To all the people of world The people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network and the internet completely. And there is news that even the phone landline will be cut tomorrow, to prevent any news agency from following what will happen. Suez city is already under siege now. The government cut the water supply and electricity, people, including, children and elderly are suffering there now. The patients in hospitals cannot get urgent medical care. The injured protestors are lying in the streets and the riot police are preventing people from helping them. The families of the killed protestors cannot get the bodies of their sons to bury them. This picture is the same in north Saini (El-Sheikh zoyad city) and in western Egypt (Al-salom). The riot police is cracking down on protestors in Ismailia, Alexandria, Fayoum, Shbin Elkoum, and Cairo, the capital, in many neighborhoods across the city. The government is preparing to crackdown on the protestors in all Egyptian cities. They are using tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic (bullets?)pullets, chemicals like dilutes mustard gas against protestors. Several protestors today have been killed when the armored vehicles of the riot police hit them. Officials in plain clothes carrying blades and knives used to intimidate protestors. All this has been taken place over the past three days during the peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Now, with the suspicious silence of the local media and the lack of coverage from the international media, Mubarak and his gang are blocking all the channels that can tell the world about what is happening. People who call for their freedom need your support and help. Will you give them a hand? The activists are flooding the net (youtube and other sites) with thousands of pictures and videos showing the riot police firing on armless people. The police started to use ammunition against protestors. 15-year old girl has been injured and another 25 year old man has been shot in the mouth. While nothing of these has appeared in the media, there is more to happen tomorrow. Will you keep silent? Will you keep your mouth shut while seeing all these cruelty and inhumane actions? We don’t ask for much, just broadcast what is happening" (Talkback to the above video posting) Comment: No way to know if the report is true or not, but knowing governments, specially Middle Eastern governments, I would surmise - why not?  Anonymous asks: "COULD IT HAPPEN HERE?" Hello Israel: now we know how we would be greeted, should we decide to confront our own government over their many, multiple and increasing evils. And knowing Israeli technological advance, and the Israeli government's incestuous ties to the NWO via Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Tsippi Livni, the supreme court, and others,  their response would probably be a thousand times worse. So much for 'demokratia'. Shabbat Shalom.  PS: Notice below how the news media don't report all the weapons heard and seen on the clip above and in the account of that writer: notice the watered-down video from AP as well. However, truth be told, these people are evil, and deserve everything they get, on both sides. 25 Jan. More than 100,000 turned out Tuesday, Jan. 25 in central Cairo and other Egyptian cities for stormy demonstrations such as Egypt has not seen for decades. Airing many grievances, they called on President Hosni Mubarak to resign after 30 years in power. Officials said three people had been killed in clashes between stone-throwing demonstrators and policemen using tear gas, water cannon and night sticks – two demonstrators and a policeman. DEBKAfile's Cairo sources report that the organizers plan to keep their protest going non-stop and absorbing all the non-religious opposition elements in the country. So far the Islamic parties led by the Muslim Brotherhood have ordered their followers to stay out. If this order is change, the Mubarak regime will be in trouble. Associated Press CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and beat protesters to clear thousands of people from a central Cairo square Wednesday after the biggest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule. http://www.valleynewslive.com/Global/story.asp?S=13901294 Update: Moshe writes: this was all planned by the slime 30 yrs ago... force isr to make peace and give up the sinai and then for them to bring nazi-ally from ww2 muslim brotherhood to power in egypt to completely surround israel just when either iraq or iran was given nuke capabilities... begin took care of iraq and so that set the slime back 30 yrs or so... but now they are ready...   they are not slowed down by any computer virus that degraded their nuke progress to the bomb... this is an abject lie to cover their asses in front of the world as to why they... the u.s. or isr whose gov'ts both follow slime orders... as to why they haven't yet launched an attack and an invasion to stop iran... more than this... the u.s. (cia) could have toppled iran anytime they wanted to over the last 20 yrs or so... especially this lasttime with the corrupt election which brought the whole country out into the streets in protest and easily iran was ripe for overthrow... but for these reasons i'm saying here they never did so... bec they are in league with them... they are working for the slime interests so the slime running the u.s. make sure american policy is to leave them alone... a trictly "hands off policy..."    after the war the muslim brotherhood was passed over to the bloody brits who turned over this hot potato to the americans... we (they the slime ruling here) took over control of them as their assets and sent ex-nazis to the middle east under cover as russian agents to help arab world come up to speed with israel militarily...    the muz brohood morphed into the plo and then later after all the other spin-off groups from the plo they became al qaeda... and together with the elite slime of this world they brought about the iranian revolution and now this egyptian one... peace is a sham... it is all about destroying isr and having isr destroy the arabs at the same time... a mutual destruction implosion to trigger and kick-start ww3...   tell your readers to go check out threeworldwars.com and see the scenarios... the slime who brought communist russia to power also brought israel to power and just like they made communism self-destruct they have plans to make the zionist movement they created and gave birth to self-destruct as well... right on cue... as soon as they are set to launch ww3... the circumstances of how this came to light staed on this site is a hoax barry chamish says... this was all done by design to cover their slime tracks... and so that very few people would ever believe this "conspiracy theory"  and that is as they like it... as they want it to be...   but while all of this is absolutely true... still the best place to hide a secret is in plain view and thus this is how they have rigged this sick ploy and ruse... and i say while the story is fabricated... albert pike et al... the stuff it reveals is absolutely true...and so i say the info and data and historical precedent set in motion after the civil war to slowly but surely bring the nwo/owg illuminati/masonic plan to reality is true and has been in motion ever since and these wars... 1&2 are exact as to how they went about orchestrating them, conducting them and in the aftermath what they set out to accomplish... and if all of this is so by those 2 first conflagrations then so is it going to be true G-d forbid.... by the next one... ww3... will go off when they want it to... unless Hashem steps in w/moshiach... it will be the big one... gog u'maygog... armaggedon... etc....   Hashem did not interrupt wws 1&2 for His reasons... hopefully He ill intervene this time and put a stop to it... but only if we deserve it... (more on this point next time)... got to run for shabat...   all i'm saying is true and is falling into place... do tshuvah, daven, learn, do the mitzvot... but get educated... the stuff is about to hit the fan in the next 2-3 yrs or so... mosh.out...

CAIRO? I could have sworn it is Beit Omar, or any other PA arab village; welcome: smell and taste the culture - There is also another side to that love of disgusting things: GAY PORN: you would not believe HOW MANY ARABS search for lewd gay material on my blog!!

September 20, 2009

Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN

CAIRO — It is unlikely anyone has ever come to this city and commented on how clean the streets are. But this litter-strewn metropolis is now wrestling with a garbage problem so severe it has managed to incite its weary residents and command the attention of the president.
“The problem is clear in the streets,” said Haitham Kamal, a spokesman for the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs. “There is a strict and intensive effort now from the state to address this issue.”
But the crisis should not have come as a surprise.
When the government killed all the pigs in Egypt this spring — in what public health experts said was a misguided attempt to combat swine flu — it was warned the city would be overwhelmed with trash.
The pigs used to eat tons of organic waste.

Now the pigs are gone and the rotting food piles up on the streets of middle-class neighborhoods like Heliopolis and in the poor streets of communities like Imbaba.
Ramadan Hediya, 35, who makes deliveries for a supermarket, lives in Madinat el Salam, a low-income community on the outskirts of Cairo.
“The whole area is trash,” Mr. Hediya said. “All the pathways are full of trash. When you open up your window to breathe, you find garbage heaps on the ground.”
What started out as an impulsive response to the swine flu threat has turned into a social, environmental and political problem for the Arab world’s most populous nation.
It has exposed the failings of a government where the power is concentrated at the top, where decisions are often carried out with little consideration for their consequences and where follow-up is often nonexistent, according to social commentators and government officials.
“The main problem in Egypt is follow-up,” said Sabir Abdel Aziz Galal, chief of the infectious disease department at the Ministry of Agriculture. “A decision is taken, there is follow-up for a period of time, but after that, they get busy with something else and forget about it. This is the case with everything.”
Speaking broadly, there are two systems for receiving services in Egypt: The government system and the do-it-yourself system. Instead of following the channels of bureaucracy, most people rely on an informal system of personal contacts and bribes to get a building permit, pass an inspection, get a driver’s license — or make a living.
“The straight and narrow path is just too bureaucratic and burdensome for the rich person, and for the poor, the formal system does not provide him with survival, it does not give him safety, security or meet his needs,” said Laila Iskandar Kamel, chairwoman of a community development organization in Cairo.
Cairo’s garbage collection belonged to the informal sector. The government hired multinational companies to collect the trash, and the companies decided to place bins around the city.
But they failed to understand the ethos of the community. People do not take their garbage out. They are accustomed to seeing someone collecting it from the door.
For more than half a century, those collectors were the zabaleen, a community of Egyptian Christians who live on the cliffs on the eastern edge of the city. They collected the trash, sold the recyclables and fed the organic waste to their pigs — which they then slaughtered and ate.
Killing all the pigs, all at once, “was the stupidest thing they ever did,” Ms. Kamel said, adding, “This is just one more example of poorly informed decision makers.”
When the swine flu fear first emerged, long before even one case was reported in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak ordered that all the pigs be killed in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
When health officials worldwide said that the virus was not being passed by pigs, the Egyptian government said that the cull was no longer about the flu, but was about cleaning up the zabaleen’s crowded, filthy, neighborhood.
That was in May.
Today the streets of the zabaleen community are as packed with stinking trash and as clouded with flies as ever before. But the zabaleen have done exactly what they said they would do: they stopped taking care of most of the organic waste.
Instead they dump it wherever they can or, at best, pile it beside trash bins scattered around the city by the international companies that have struggled in vain to keep up with the trash.
“They killed the pigs, let them clean the city,” said Moussa Rateb, a former garbage collector and pig owner who lives in the community of the zabaleen. “Everything used to go to the pigs, now there are no pigs, so it goes to the administration.”
The recent trash problem was compounded when employees of one of the multinational companies — men and women in green uniforms with crude brooms dispatched around the city — stopped working in a dispute with the city.
The government says that the dispute has been resolved, but nothing has been done to repair the damage to the informal system that once had the zabaleen take Cairo’s trash home.
The garbage is only the latest example of the state’s struggling to meet the needs of its citizens, needs as basic as providing water, housing, health care and education.
The government announced last week that schools would not be opened until the first week of October to give the government time to prepare for a potential swine flu outbreak, a decision that could have been made anytime over the past three months, while schools were closed for summer break, critics said.
Officials in the Ministry of Health and other government ministries said they had not made this decision — and that they had counseled against pre-emptive school closings.
It appears to have been ordered by the presidency and carried out by the governors, who also ordered that all private schools, already in class, be shut down as well.
“We did not propose or call for postponing schools, so the reason is not with us,” said an official in the Ministry of Health who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the news media.
The heads of three large governorates, or states, in Egypt announced Wednesday that their strategy for keeping schoolchildren safe was to take classes, which on average are crowded with more than 60 students, and split them in half and have children attend school only three days a week, another decision that was criticized. There have been more than 800 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Egypt, and two flu-related deaths.
“The state is troubled; as a result the system of decision making is disintegrating,” said Galal Amin, an economist, writer and social critic. “They are ill-considered decisions taken in a bit of a hurry, either because you’re trying to please the president or because you are a weak government that is anxious to please somebody.”
Cairo’s streets have always been busy with children and littered with trash.
Now, with the pigs gone, and the schools closed, they are even more so.
“The Egyptians are really in a mess,” Mr. Amin said.

Mona el-Naggar contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/africa/20cairo.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&emc=eta1 

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